Protocol evaluation of the total suspended solids and suspended sediment concentration methods: solid recovery efficiency and application for stormwater analysis.
Total suspended solids (TSS) is routinely measured in water and wastewater treatment plants, and protocols are well-known. The TSS measurement in stormwater is more difficult, because the particle size and density can be much greater, biasing the sample if it is collected from a poorly mixed location or allowed to settle in a quiescent collection container. An alternative method, called suspended sediment concentration (SSC), uses a different protocol, which analyzes the entire contents of the sample collection container. The SSC method is not compatible with many monitoring programs, which require several constituents to be analyzed from a single sample container, such as from a flow-weighted composite sample. This paper addresses TSS protocol using glass beads and samples with known particle size distribution and shows that proper mixing, combined with appropriate pipettes, can largely avoid sampling error for typical sediments as large as 250 microm with specific gravity of 2.6.
Chan
Licheng
L
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1593, USA.
Li
Yingxia
Y
Stenstrom
Michael K
MK
D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D014872:Water Movements